Sunday, December 23, 2012

How to Teach Your Horse Not to Bite

By Brad Chase


There can be a number of motivations behind biting when it comes to horses. Body language of the horse will give you clues to that.

Aggression- Biting may be a way for horses to tell other horses to stay out of their way. Typically, aggressive biting is also accompanied by an outstretched head and neck, flared nostrils, and flattened ears. These body signals are often given before a horse bites, so the horse, or possibly the person, can quickly move away from the threatening behaviour.

Fun- Horses will often initiate play with both horses and people by biting. This is especially common with younger horses like geldings and colts. This is often because they are excited.

Tidy Up- Horse nibbling on other horses' necks or withers is also quite common. This gentle form of biting may even be targeted towards people.

Boredom- By nuzzling or mouthing items horses sometimes deal with boredom. This can become a problem. Horses may nip you to get your attention when they become frustrated. Horses who want treats may do that as well.

A horse biting situation can be caused by a number of motivations. Here is how to teach them not to do so.

Top Solutions for Horse Biting Issues

In what situations does your horse bite? Here are some solutions.

Guarding Food- Have you noticed your horse often bites when you try to feed them food and horse supplements? Horses do this because they think they are protecting the resources you are offering. Look for signs for aggression and take care of this behavioural problem by removing the food as soon as aggressive biting symptoms occur. offer the food again only when your horse calms down. He will eventually learn the only way to truly get food and keep it is to stop the aggression.

Fear- Horses that are afraid or shy and sensitive to handling, will bite as well. If this is the problem with your horse, desensitizing him is the only way to resolve the problem.

Soreness- Horses also tend to bite when they are in pain. You may want to check for tacking problems and examine the horse for equine health issues. Perhaps it suffers from arthritis? You will need horse supplements to take care of these problems. Maybe saddle adjustment is required? Or rough girthing? By reducing your horse's discomfort you are solving the biting problems.

Excitement- Being excited and playful might look like a good thing but sometimes horses have too much energy and they bite. You can help your horse channel and control high levels of energy, without biting, however, by providing more exercise, like leading and lunging, and by using calming horse supplements when necessary.

Does your horse bite? Biting issues my be caused by high energy levels or other equine health problems. Biting for any reason can be dangerous for humans, though, so it is essential you take the proper steps to curb biting issues in your horses.




About the Author:



No comments: